Life of Riley: Beginner's Luck by Simon James Green (author)

Shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Award
A hilarious middle-grade novel about one boy’s quest to get rid of a ridiculous amount of bad luck!
After a traumatic run-in with the fortune teller from a visiting funfair – thanks to an unfortunately-timed sneeze – Riley finds himself CURSED.
Life as he knows it quickly becomes a catalogue of disasters – from accidentally supergluing himself to his classmates and ruining the school football team’s sponsorship deal, to flooding his house and losing class 4’s pet rabbit – Riley knows the bad luck is out to get him.
Enter new kid: Brad Chicago. He’s super-cool, well-groomed and stylish, with an excellent stationery collection. And for some reason he wants to be Riley’s friend. Can Riley get rid of the curse before Brad discovers he’s a walking disaster?

• Laugh-out-loud funny, warm-hearted and anarchic in a way that readers will love.


• Brought to life with Aleksei Bitskoff’s lively, humorous illustrations.


• Perfect for fans of Kid Normal, David Solomons’ My Brother is a Superhero and David Baddiel.


• Award-winning author Simon James Green is best known for his funny books for teens. This is his first book for middle-grade readers.